Questions Abound At Yanks' Camp As Jeter's Swan Song Begins

TAMPA, Fla. — On the day Derek Jeter revealed his retirement plans to the world, he also revealed plans to soak in all the events of his final season.

"I'm soaking it in right now," he said with signature sarcasm as reporters surrounded him Thursday. "I'm soaking."

Jeter, who missed nearly all of last season with injuries, got on the field for the first time in a spring training game, took a couple of at-bats, played five innings at shortstop. The signs so far are promising that he might beat the odds and, as he turns 40 in June, finish his career with a productive season.

But there are question marks beyond Jeter's last season. The Yankees are filled with them. Filled with older players they hope can reverse their history of injuries, filled with new players who bring big contracts and high expectations, filled with relatively obscure players they hope will fill important needs.

It's a very unusual Yankees team in many respects, but like all others, it draws attention.

"It's been insane," said David Phelps, hoping to win a job in the rotation. "All this media here to see me. It's nuts."

The Yankees, 85-77 last season, missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and only the second time since Jeter arrived in 1995. In the offseason, they chose to play hardball with their best player, Robinson Cano, and tipped their hat when he signed a 10-year, $240 million contract with Seattle.

Instead, the Yankees invested in former Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury (seven years, $153 million), catcher Brian McCann (five years, $85 million), outfielder Carlos Beltran (three years, $45 million) and, forgetting the plan of keeping the payroll under $189 million, they splurged on Japanese starter Masahiro Tanaka (seven years, $155 million). All the moves were aimed at energizing a frustrated, increasingly apathetic fan base, getting New York to talk Yankees again and, of course, return to the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Alex Rodriguez, serving a suspension for using performance enhancers, is not here, giving the Yankees some relief from the $30 million salary he drew and the baggage he brought. And closer Mariano Rivera retired after the same kind of yearlong farewell tour that now awaits Jeter.

The Yankees' task is tall, with the defending champion Red Sox in their division. Despite offseason splashes, they are not American League favorites. The Tigers are.

"I like the players we have," Jeter said as he walked out of the clubhouse. "That's why there is always optimism. But just having players doesn't mean you're going to win. You have to gel as a team. If our team gels, if everyone stays healthy, I like our chances."

That this Yankees season will be more about Jeter than any other was determined on Feb. 12 when he announced his retirement on Facebook. Everything he does this season will be the last time — the last spring training, the last Opening Day, the last trip to Fenway Park, perhaps the last All-Star Game, and finally the last game at Yankee Stadium Sept. 25, which is sold out with tickets going sky high.

Kelly Johnson, 32, another newcomer who played third base beside Jeter on Thursday, noted that he was in eighth grade when he watched Jeter play as a rookie in 1996. But the Yankees, who are not selling tickets the way they did during their championship years, need more than nostalgia from their captain.

After Jeter fractured his ankle in a ghastly stumble in the ALCS on Oct. 14, 2012, the Yankees bowed out quietly. He tried several times to return last season but re-fractured the ankle in spring training and continued pulling leg muscles. Jeter played only 17 games and the Yankees tried seven other players at shortstop, none of whom were distinguished.

In short, the Yankees need Derek Jeter as much as ever.

"I've never gone into a season thinking I wasn't important," Jeter said. "If I ever felt as though I wasn't important, then I would've left a long time ago."

Jeter, a .312 career hitter with 3,316 hits and 348 stolen bases, has always been a catalyst, hitting first or, as he did against the Pirates at Steinbrenner Field Thursday, second. Brett Gardner, one of the few Yankees developed in their farm system, is the same kind of player. And so are Ellsbury and Brian Roberts, the former Orioles second baseman the Yankees are hoping can overcome several injury-plagued seasons.

Beltran and McCann provide power and Mark Teixeira, who also missed nearly all last season with a wrist injury, provide middle-of-the-order power, but this is not a Yankees team likely to lead the league in home runs.

"We have a lot of guys who can run, and that's a dimension that makes a lot of teams dangerous," Jeter said. "Speed never goes into a slump. Pitching, hitting, everything slumps, but speed doesn't slump."